medieval herb garden

I have designed a garden which will be built at The Chelsea Flower Show in May. It is based on a medieval herb garden and there are four raised beds, contained by low split hazel hurdles. I am trying to find a material suitable for the paths between them. The garden is set in the south east so that may affect the type material that is suitable. I would be grateful for any (sensible:wink suggestions that will suggest the period it is based on. Details of the garden will be on my website in the next few days.
Chris

 

Hi Boghopper,

From the little I know cinders were used to make paths in them days. I am trying very hard to make it to Chelsea this year, hope to say hello there.

Maybe even that hoggin stuff-but not at all sure of that. Freshly laid it will look too new I think but maybe not.

 

Thanks for the suggestion Loofah but there will be a Chamomile seat against the back wall so I think the paths need to be of a harder material. Slate would be unlikely unless the garden was set in Wales for instance.
I think that hoggin is a fairly modern material but I hadn't thought of cinders. Thanks Claire. Other ideas are broken tiles/flower pots, crushed shells or just rammed earth. Please keep them coming! :thmb:
Chris

 

I love the look of york stone, and am very thankful to have a few good sized slabs in my garden

Not sure if it's the right material for your plan. What about sandstone?

I most definately will be going this year, no matter what it takes, not managed to make it yet :( Will be a joy for visit a CG members garden design there :thumb:

 

We had cinder paths at my parents house. But I don't know if my father created them (we had an anthracite cooker!!) or whether they had been there hundreds of years ...

 

I think it would depend where in the country medieval gardeners lived, as to what material you had available-something either very cheap or free.

Garden sounds wonderful.

 

We have a lad at work who is very keen on all things medieval. I asked him what material would have been used. His answer was along these lines.

If the owner was very rich, they will have used paving stones cut from local stone. If they were poor, they would have used sand and pebbles from a river bed, if available in their locality, or wooden planks. If they were very very poor, they would have just left it as mud. I questioned the wooden plank bit because I figured once wet it would be very slippy, and it would quickly rot. He told me that wood was a very cheap resources back then, so they would have just replaced it when necessary. In terms of being slippy, he said that poor folk would have had shoes of soft leather (if they were lucky) or would be in bare feet, so slipping was less of an issue. Apparently even if the owner was rich, if the herb garden was just a practical kitchen garden, then still they may not have used any material, as they would have paid peasants to work it, and would not have cared about their comfort and welfare.

 

I have some of those little cottages,they were given to me as presents.It will be lovely to look out for someone from our forum at Chelsea.

 

He forgot to mention there was a bit of vandalism involved-old roman roads and walls and buildings were often dismantled by the populace for this sort of work.

Not only the very rich had stone pathways-the luckily situated had them too.

 

I suppose the idea of a herb garden was something for the wealthy of the medieval era-the poor would have incorporated herbs into the general vegetable area and wouldn't have had the room to set aside an area just for herbs. So you can splash out and have a proper surface for the paths

 

Thanks for all your replies, it's nice to have so much support. I like your idea of using wood, Clueless1, I'm just not sure if it will provide enough of a contrast with the hazel fencing.
As the design is only supposed to be inspired by a medieval herb garden, I do have a bit of leeway. However, from past experience, I know that the judges like to see authenticity. Yes, Aaron, I could splash out, but building time is limited and we have to lay a 4m long path down the centre so I'm looking for a simple material that can be put down quickly.
It's nice to know you've got some of my cottages from the old days, Joyce42, I enjoyed that part of my life, now I'm enjoying being a gardener! :plant:
Chris

 

Think of something that's easy to take up as well and won't get too embedded by visitors walking on it.

I really must come to Chelsea this year.

 

Quite right Aaron. It needs to be easy to lay and take up. We have to put a membrane down first as no excavation is allowed in the Ranelagh Gardens site and the lawned area has to be in pristine condition when we leave. Luckily, the public are not allowed on the garden although invited guests - come and say hello - may be!:thmb:

 

Boghopper, out of interest, what herbs will be going in there? I know that there are many herbs that were in common use in days gone by that have long since disappeared into obscurity, and also nowadays there are many herbs for foreign parts that would have been scarce in England back then, and there are hybrids that simply didn't exist back then.

Will you be going for stuff that people immediately recognise, or stuff that has long since disappeared from the modern garden? Or perhaps a mix of both?